We have recently added a new Spanish Instructor to our
repertoire of stellar teachers here in the Language and Culture
Department. Her name is Maigualida
(Mag-wa-lita) and she’s from Venezuela.
Not only is she an instant hit w/our language students, but I found out
a couple weeks ago that she is also teaching a Venezuelan cooking class here in
town.
Living in this town its sometimes a struggle to find fun and
different things to do. So upon learning this, I immediately registered for the class. Although it wasn’t my favorite cooking class
I’ve ever taken, (the one in Thailand by far takes the cake… sticky-rice cake,
ha!) it was definitely a fun way to spend and afternoon.
There were 10 other participants in the group, two of which
had also lived in Venezuela. As we were
all slicing and dicing and munching away, we learned about Venezuelan culture…
the food, music, customs and beliefs.
And talks about their recently departed ruler, Chavez, and how his
death will impact the future of Venezuela, was definitely a hot topic. And what a shame, such a beautiful country, with beautiful waters and amazing diving :(
In the end we all sat down for a zesty meal of rice and
beans (no surprise there) accompanied by beef so tender that we literally tore
it apart with our fingers. The meal was then
topped off w/one of my faves, plátanos fritos (fried plantan) … YUM!
I
know for a fact I didnt eat nearly enough food
to cover the cost of the class, but it was about much more than paying
for a meal. It was a chance to learn,
meet new people and try something different.
There’s nothing like food to bring folks together, and although I'll probably never share meal with these people again, we will always share the
experience. Thanks Maigualida :)
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